Changing the paradigm

They say old habits die hard, but the need for change in our approach to horse sports has never been greater, writes AMANDA MAC.

The ways in which we train and ride our horses is, to no small degree, based on traditions and practices which often have a long history. But just because certain ways of doing things are steeped in tradition does not mean they are best practice, nor are they necessarily in the horse’s best interests.

With growing public concern over horse welfare, social licence is in increasingly sharp focus. To be clear, social license in this context refers to the general public’s implicit acceptance and approval of equestrian activities. Without this approval, the continuation of many horse-related sports could be in serious jeopardy. Recognising that maintaining social license is pivotal, not only for the sport’s sustainability, but also for its reputation, the FEI has instigated a range of initiatives, one of which is its recently established Equine Welfare Advisory Group.

This Advisory Group will provide ongoing independent advice on the FEI Equine Welfare Strategy, and oversee the strategy’s implementation through the FEI’s Welfare Action Plan. Chaired by FEI Veterinary Committee Chair, Dr Jenny Hall, the six member group includes Australian equine behavioural expert Dr Andrew McLean, winner of the Eureka Prize for Science, Australia’s highest science award, and CEO of Equitation Science International (see EHM July 2022 & Oct 2023). Andrew is also part of the FEI’s Ethical Training Methods Expert Consultative Group, a key component in the delivery of the Equine Welfare Action Plan.

One of the areas that the dressage orientated group has been tasked with exploring is the growing body of research identifying, among other things, previously unrecognised issues relating to tack, equipment and technique.

For example, recent studies have focussed on the mechanics of a horse’s capacity to breathe. “The airway located at the back of the mouth is necessarily wide and very important for breathing,” Andrew says, “but when the tongue draws back it closes that space. Whenever that happens, the horse’s respiration rate and pulmonary pressure increase, which can cause breathlessness similar to a mild asthma attack.”

Andrew explains that there are a number of reasons as to why the tongue moves back in the mouth. “The tongue is designed to ‘ramp’ in the middle and to push forward anything that is unwanted or distasteful. Therefore, when bit pressure is perceived as painful, the tongue draws up to push it forward. This effect alters the horse’s airway dynamics and can give feelings of suffocation.”

There is also evidence that when a horse opens their mouth, they break the lip seal (designed to keep internal pressure negative) thus increasing internal respiratory pressure and decreasing the efficiency of the airway.

Hyperflexion has also been a topic for ongoing study. The most recent research involved a large sample of horses of all breeds, and compared the effects of being five degrees in front of the vertical as opposed to 10 degrees behind. At five degrees in front, horses showed relaxation behaviours, but at 10 degrees behind or even less, their breathing was restricted. “The horses displayed increases in respiratory pressure combined with conflict behaviours, showing that they were less happy,” Andrew explains. “There were also increases in eye temperature, decreased heart rate variability, and a few other key elements of stress. So, the research is telling us things that I certainly didn’t know in my early life in riding.”

What is becoming increasingly obvious is that we need to prioritise not having horses’ noses behind the vertical, which is not an easy ask for modern horse sports because, as Andrew points out, they’ve become progressively more behind the vertical over the past 30 years.

When it comes to the double bridle, the FEI is making moves to allow the optional use of snaffles. As early as January 2019, riders in CDI1* and 2* dressage classes were given the choice of using either a snaffle or a traditional double bridle, a ruling also applicable to Junior and Young Rider classes, and Small Tour classes at 1* and 2* level. Then late last year, the FEI sanctioned ‘experimental’ Grands Prix in snaffle bridles, with their dressage committee encouraging event organisers to offer special classes up to CDI3* for riders wishing to compete in a snaffle rather than a double bridle. “There’s been a distinct change in the top sports people, particularly in dressage, where they’re saying that they would consider that to be a move in a good direction.” Andrew says.

In fact, given public concern over equine welfare, Andrew believes that greater use of a snaffle bridle is almost inevitable. He also thinks that riding in a snaffle would help identify horses who were better trained and could therefore maintain self-carriage: “A double bridle with a curb chain becomes what’s known as a second class lever. It adds more pressure to alter the horse’s head position, and also effects the tongue. I think as we become more knowledgeable about the negative implications of these things, we’ll start to see a move towards snaffles.”

Referring to the concept of self-carriage, in which the horse maintains their posture, speed, rhythm and straightness without being held, Andrew shares what occurred recently when the German National Federation invited him to go to Warendorf with two other scientists to talk about hyperflexion at the renowned German National Riding School. After observing four horses being ridden around the arena, Andrew asked their riders to run their hands forward for just two strides to allow the horse’s nose to come out a little further.

Although in most cases the position of the nose moved by as little as a centimetre, the effect on the horses was immediate. “Their mechanical staccato movements changed as their gullets opened, and they looked much more lithe and soft. Every single horse improved when we ran the hands forward and then took up a lighter contact. Some of the horses didn’t maintain self-carriage, but that’s only a question of practice and training.”

Andrew gives some interesting examples of dressage horses who are very close to exemplifying self-carriage: “Valegro was close to that. I don’t think he was properly in self-carriage from my perspective, but he was close. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Carl Hester’s horses are pretty close too. Ingrid Klimke’s horses as well – and of course Ingrid’s got the great history of her own father who was the master of self-carriage.”

And Andrew certainly doesn’t rule out the possibility of bitless bridles in competition. “Judges aren’t just judging the horse’s mouth, they’re judging what the horse is doing. So I can’t see why, if they can do exactly the same things bitless, we should be concerned about people training and competing in the lightest of equipment. And the reason I say that is because the world is watching. The future of sports involving animals is really in the hands of the public, and for me, the canary in the coal mine was what happened with greyhounds in New South Wales.”

A step beyond bitless is bridleless, and an inspiring example can be found in show jumper Brendan Wise. Brendan and Lyric, an Argentinian Warmblood, made their competitive bridleless debut in 2024 on the show jumping circuit in Ocala, Florida, where they competed up to 1.40m National Grand Prix level with no bridle, proving that bridleless riding can be successfully taken into high level open competition against bridled horses.

Of course, not every horse can be ridden bridleless, but we do need to begin eliminating apparatus and training techniques with the potential to induce negative welfare. “It’s the least we can do for the horse,” Andrew says. “It’s worth remembering that while we have selectively bred horses to not show pain or distress visibly, they suffer silently.”

So where to from here? To quote Viktor Frankl, when we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves – and our challenge is to adapt to changes in equestrian sports that should by now be recognised as inevitable. “If we want sustainability, we can’t keep our heads in the sand and pretend the problem [of social license] will go away. There are going to be more problems, we haven’t seen the bottom of it yet,” Andrew says. “More and more people are jumping to the side of horse welfare, even if sometimes they’re really opinionated and sometimes incorrect. And there’s even a bit of a division amongst scientists about the various effects of different apparatus, but that’s really for the science to thrash out.”

The controversy around hyperflexion, double bridles and other similar welfare issues must be addressed if we want to keep our sport alive. The equestrian industry is huge. It represents the livelihoods, careers, hopes and dreams of riders, trainers, breeders and the myriad satellite industries associated with the sport. “It’s a big, big industry,” Andrew remarks. “There’s a lot of money in it, and a lot of lives that depend on it, which isn’t in itself a reason for maintaining anything – but wouldn’t it be a real win/win not to lose the sport we love, and at the same time improve horse welfare.”

To learn more about Dr Andrew McLean and his work, visit Equestrian Science International, where you can also purchase Andrew’s excellent books.